Roman Emperor

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"Roman Emperor" is a non-historical title for the theoretical ruler of the so-called Roman Empire; it is a non-historical title in that it was not actually used, and refers to theoretical rulers in that the Emperors cannot be described either as the "de jure" rulers (nominally the Emperor was merely primus inter pares, or first amongst equals) or as the "de facto" rulers (Emperors were frequently themselves figureheads for powerful bureaucrats, functionaries, women, and generals).

Discussion of Roman Emperors involves a high degree of historian's editorial discretion, for the Romans themselves did not share the modern understanding of the monarchical concepts of "empire" and "emperor" (note that the Empire had all the political institutions and traditions of the Roman Republic, including the Senate and assemblies). This article discusses the nature of the imperial dignity, and its dynastic development throughout the history of the Empire. For a discussion of the Emperor's claimed godhead, see "imperial cult". For a listing of emperors, see "List of Roman Emperors".

Note that the Emperor was quasi-head of state; as princeps senatus (lit., "first man of the senate"), the Emperor received foreign embassages to Rome, which in modern terms would tend to identify him as chief of state. However, the principate senatus was not a magistracy and did not own imperium; in terms of the modern Westminster system, this is approximately comparable to diplomatic agents being accredited to the Leader of the House (the consuls functioned as a sort of hybrid between the Speaker of the House and the Prime Minister). At some points in the Empire's history, the Emperor was only nominal quasi-head of state; powerful praetorian prefects and masters of the soldiers (and even at one point Imperial mothers and grandmothers) occasionally acted as what might be called "shadow emperors" (also called "emperors who weren't").

Also note that contrary to popular belief, Gaius Iulius Caesar ("Julius Caesar") was not a Roman Emperor. He held the Republican offices of consul (four times) and dictator (five times), and was appointed perpetual dictator (dictator perpetuus) in 45 BC. While he is the last dictator of the Republic, he died several years before the final collapse of the traditional Republican system, to be replaced by the Principate.


Overview

There was no constitutional office of "Roman emperor" (the first person actually to bear that title was Mixahl I "Rhangabes" in the early IX century, who was styled Basileys Rhomai�n, "Emperor of the Romans"), nor any title or rank directly analogous to the title of "emperor"; all the titles traditionally associated with the Emperor had pre-existing, Republican meanings. "Roman Emperor" is a convenient shorthand used by historians to express the much more complicated nature of being the "First Man" in the Roman state, and as a result there are many differing opinions as to precisely who was Emperor when, and how many Emperors there were.

The emperor's legal authority derived from the extraordinary concentration of individual powers and offices extant in the Republic rather than from a new political office (emperors regularly had themselves elected to the consulate and the censorate); the emperor actually held the non-"imperial" offices of princeps senatus (parliamentary leader of the house in the Senate) and pontifex maximus (chief priest of the Roman state religion; lit. "greatest bridge-maker"), both of which had existed for hundreds of years before the Empire. (Gratianus was the last emperor to be pontifex maximus; he surrendered the pontificate maximus in 382 to Siricius and it permanently became an auxiliary honour of the Bishop of Rome.)

However, these offices only provided great dignitas (personal prestige) and auctoritas (influence or clout); the emperor's powers derived from the fact that he held ad personam (i.e., without holding office) both imperium maius (supreme authority or command) and tribunicia potestas (tribunician power). As a result, he formally outranked the provincial governors and the ordinary magistrates (magistratus ordinarii), had the right to enact capital punishment, could command obedience of private citizens (privati), enjoyed personal inviolability (sacrosanctitas), could rescue any plebeian from the hands of any patrician magistrate (ius auxiliandi), and interpose his veto on any act or proposal of any magistrate, including the tribunes of the people (ius intercessio).

"Emperor" was not a magistracy or office of state (note that there was no formally prescribed "uniform" such as those of curule magistrates, senators, and knights; later emperors were distinguished by wearing togae purpurae, purple togas -- hence the phrase "to don the purple" for the assumption of imperial dignity), nor was there even a regular title until the III century. The titles customarily associated with the imperial dignity are imperator ("commander", lit. "one who prepares against"), which emphasises the emperor's military supremacy (later particularly ironical in the era of the so-called "Barracks Emperors"), caesar, which was originally a name but came to be used to refer to the designated heir (as Nobilissimus Caesar, "Most Noble Caesar") and was retained upon accession, and augustus ("majestic" or "venerable"), which was adopted upon accession (the three titles were rendered in Greek as autokrat�r, kaisar, and augustos (or sebastos), respectively). When Diocletianus established the Tetrarchy, caesar designated the two junior sub-emperors and augustus the two senior emperors.

The word princeps, from the emperor's office of princeps senatus, was most commonly used to refer to the emperor in Latin (although the emperor's actual constitutional position was essentially "pontifex maximus with tribunician power"); the Greek word basileys ("king") was modified to be synonymous with princeps in the sense of "emperor" (and primarily came into favour after Heraclius defeated the Persian "Great King", or basileys). In the era of Diocletianus and beyond, princeps fell into disuse and was replaced with dominus ("lord"); later emperors used the formula Imperator Caesar NN. Pius Felix (Invictus) Augustus. The use of princeps and dominus broadly symbolise the differences in the Empire's government, giving rise to the era designations "Principate" and "Dominate".

The line of Roman emperors in the East continues unbroken until the fall of Constantinople in 1453 under Konstantinos XI Palaeologos. These emperors eventually normalised the imperial dignity into the modern conception of an emperor, incorporated it into the constitutions of the state, and adopted the aforementioned title Basileys Rhomai�n ("Emperor of the Romans"; these Emperors ceased to use Latin as the language of state after Heraclius). Historians have customarily treated these later Eastern emperors under the non-historical name "Byzantine Empire".

The concept of the Roman Empire was renewed in the West with the coronation of the king of the Franks, Karl I as Roman emperor on Christmas Day, 800. This line of Roman emperors was actually generally German rather than Roman, but maintained their Romanness as a matter of principle; it lasted until 1806 when Franz II dissolved the Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. These emperors used a variety of titles (most frequently "Imperator Augustus") before finally settling on Imperator Romanus Electus ("Elected Roman Emperor"), and are customarily treated by historians under the title "Holy Roman Emperor", which unlike "Roman Emperor" and "Byzantine Empire" has an actual historical basis.

In the listings of Roman Emperors below, the common name is given first, followed by the more formal name adopted upon accession to the purple, the name given at birth, and the years of his reign. So-called victory titles and other titles not forming an integral part of the name (Pontifex Maximus, Princeps Senatus, Pater Patriae, &c.) are not listed. Co-Emperors are listed in inferior text, along with notes identifying senior Emperors who had hitherto served as co-Emperors.

Abbreviations

  • A. - Aulus
  • Aug. - Augustus (as a title)
  • C. - Gaius
  • Germ. - Germanicus
  • Imp. - Imperator
  • L. - Lucius
  • M. - Marcus
  • Max. - Maximus
  • Nob. - Nobilissimus
  • P. - Publius
  • P.F. - Pius Felix
  • Princ. Iuv. - Princeps Iuventutis
  • Q. - Quintus
  • Ser. - Servius
  • T. - Titus
  • Ti. - Tiberius

The Principate

Julio-Claudian Dynasty

The Julio-Claudian dynasty was composed of the Iulii Caesares and the Claudii Nerones, two distinguished patrician families in the waning days of the old Republic. The Iulii Caesares rose to absolute power in the Roman state in the person of the paterfamilias, Julius Caesar himself; upon his murder in 44 BC, the majority of his estate passed to his posthumously adopted son, Gaius Octavius, the grandson of Caesar's sister Iulia (per Roman naming convention, Octavius henceforth became called "Gaius Iulius Caesar Octavianus"). Octavianus emerged from a series of civil wars as the sole master of the Roman world, and in January 27 BC was appointed princeps senatus and given the cognomen "Augustus" (L., "Majestic" or "Venerable"); henceforth he styled himself "Imperator Caesar Augustus". He continued to be elected consul ordinarius each year until 23 BC.

Historians customarily mark the "First Settlement" of 27 as inaugurating Caesar Augustus's reign as Emperor. This is generally misleading, as his constitutional position that year was little different from his constitutional position as early as July 32 BC (when he provoked war with Cleopatra VII of Egypt as a means of ridding himself of his rival Marcus Antonius), except that he now held the principate of the senate (an office with chiefly parliamentary and ceremonial functions) and bore an honorific surname. A far more important development was the "Second Settlement" of 23 BC, when Caesar Augustus accepted tribunicia potestas for life and imperium maius proconsulare. Two further developments concluded the establishment of the Imperial dignity: Caesar Augustus accepted imperium consulare on an ad personam basis in 19 BC and was elected pontifex maximus in 13 BC. Thus the Imperial dignity was fully established as the extraordinary concentration of ordinary powers and immunities.

Julio-Claudian Emperors:

Dynastic Relationships:

Caesar Augustus's third wife Livia Drusilla (subsequently "Iulia Augusta") had previously borne two children by her first husband, Tiberius Claudius Nero: Tiberius and Drusus. Tiberius's second wife was Julia Caesaris, Marcus Agrippa's widow (his first wife had been Vipsania, Agrippa's daughter by his first marriage); Caesar Augustus adopted Tiberius on June 26, 4, whereupon Tiberius himself adopted his brother Drusus's son by Marcus Antonius's daughter, Germanicus Julius Caesar. Germanicus married Vipsania Agrippina, Agrippa's daughter by Julia and Tiberius's stepdaughter, and had by her one surviving son, Gaius "Caligula" ("Bootkins"), and a daughter, Julia Agrippina, whose second husband was Germanicus's brother by blood, Claudius (she was his fourth wife); Agrippina had already borne a son, Lucius, whom Claudius adopted under the name Nero in 40; Nero married Claudius's daughter Octavia in 53.

Non-Dynastic

The year 69 is often called the "Year of the Four Emperors" because it saw four usurpers successively claim the purple. The fourth Emperor is listed in the next section due to dynastic considerations.

  • Galba ("Ser. Galba Imp. Caesar Aug."; b. Ser. Sulpicius Galba), 68 � 69
  • Otho ("Imp. M. Otho Caesar Aug."; b. M. Salvius Otho), 69
  • Vitellius ("A. Vitellius Germ. Imp. Aug."; b. A. Vitellius), 69

Nero committed suicide on June 9, 68, to escape rebellious soldiers loyal to the disloyal Galba, governor of Hispania Tarraconensis (south-eastern Spain). Galba was deposed in January 69 by a disloyal member of his own entourage, Otho (Nero's governor of Lusitania, i.e., western Spain), who was in turn displaced in April by Vitellius (Nero's governor of Germania Inferior. In late December, Vitellius was deposed by the governor of Judaea, Vespasianus (see below).

Flavian Dynasty

The Flavian dynasty was composed of the Flavii Vespasiani, a middle-class family of plebeian stock. A relatively short-lived dynasty of 30 years, the Flavians confirmed the use of "Caesar" to confirm the hereditary nature of the Imperial dignity (Vespasianus gave both his sons this rank, and is said to have informed the Senate that one of his sons would succeed him or no one would). Domitianus made himself extremely unpopular by his autocratic manner, which was a departure from the traditional fiction that the Emperor was merely first among equals (primus inter pares).

Flavian Emperors:

  • Vespasianus ("Imp. T. Flavius Vespasianus Caesar"; b. T. Flavius Vespasianus), 69 � 79
  • Titus ("Imp. T. Caesar Vespasianus Aug."; b. T. Flavius Vespasianus), 79 � 81
    • Note: Titus had been co-Emperor with Vespasianus (as "Imp. T. Caesar Vespasianus") from 71 until his own accession to the purple
  • Domitianus ("Imp. Caesar Domitianus Aug."; b. T. Flavius Domitianus), 81 � 96

Dynastic Relationships:

Vespasianus's wife Flavia Domitilla bore him a daughter (Flavia Domitilla) and two sons (Titus and Domitianus).

Nervan-Antonine Dynasty

The Nervan-Antonine dynasty was a largely artificial one, chiefly built out more of adoption than blood relations, as in the Julio-Claudian or Flavian dynasties (the first Emperor of this dynasty was an elderly, childless man, from the noble Cocceii Nervae). The Nervan-Antonine dynasty produced the famous "Five Good Emperors", and the first non-Italian Roman Emperors (viz., the Spaniards Trajanus and Hadrianus). The Nervan-Antonine dynasty also marks the first time that an Emperor (viz., Hadrianus) was depicted with a beard, and one of the first times that a deceased Emperor (viz., Antoninus Pius) was inhumed rather than cremated. Note that the Nervan-Antonine Emperors adopted the regularised style Imperator Caesar NN. Augustus, whereas there had hitherto been considerable variation.

Nervan-Antonine Emperors:

  • Nerva ("Imp. Nerva Caesar Aug."; b. M. Cocceius Nerva), 96 � 98
  • Trajanus ("Imp. Caesar Nerva Traianus Aug."; b. M. Ulpius Traianus), 98 � 117
    • Note: Trajanus had been co-Emperor with Nerva from 97 until his own accession to the purple
  • Hadrianus ("Imp. Caesar Traianus Hadrianus Aug."; b. P. Aelius Hadrianus), 117 � 138
  • Antoninus Pius ("Imp. T. Aelius Caesar Antoninus"; b. T. Aurelius Fulvus Boionus Arrius Antoninus), 138 � 161
  • Marcus Aurelius ("Imp. Caesar M. Aurelius Antoninus Augustus"; b. M. Annius Verus), 161 � 180
    • Lucius Verus ("Imp. Caesar L. Aurelius Verus Aug."; b. L. Aelius Aurelius Commodus), 161 � 169
    • Commodus ("Imp. Caesar L. Aurelius Commodus Aug."; b. L. Aurelius Commodus), 177 � 180
  • Commodus ("Imp. Caesar L. Aurelius Commodus Aug."; b. L. Aurelius Commodus), 180 � 193
    • Note: Commodus had been co-Emperor with Marcus Aurelius from 177 until his own accession to the purple

Dynastic Relationships:

Nerva was a childless bachelor, and as a result adopted the governor of Germania Superior, Trajanus, in October 97. Trajanus's first cousin, once removed, Hadrianus, was his ward and governor of Syria at the time of his guardian's death, and acceded to the purple without having been adopted by his predecessor. Hadrianus himself adopted Antoninus Pius on February 25, 138; at the same time, Antoninus Pius adopted Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus. Marcus Aurelius was son of Trajanus's great-grandnephew (and consequently grandson of the half-sister of Hadrianus's wife), and subsequently married Antoninus Pius's daughter Annia Galeria Faustina, and Lucius Verus was son of Lucius Ceionius Commodus, who had been Hadrianus's first choice as Caesar and Emperor-designate. Marcus Aurelius's sixth son (of eight) was Commodus.

Non-Dynastic

In March 193, the Imperial dignity was quite literally and quite openly auctioned off by the mutinous Praetorian Guard, with Titus Flavius Sulpicianus (father-in-law of the slain Emperor) and Marcus Didius Julianus bidding for the Guard's support for the purple.

  • Pertinax ("Imp. Caesar P. Helvius Pertinax Aug."; b. P. Helvius Pertinax), 193
  • Didius Julianus ("Imp. Caesar M. Didius Severus Iulianus Aug."; b. M. Didius Iulianus), 193

Commodus's murder on December 31, 192 was immediately followed the next day by the accession of Pertinax, the urban prefect (praefectus urbanus). He was murdered by the Praetorian Guard in late March 193. The consular Didius Julianus was installed by Pertinax's murderers, and was himself murdered on June 1 by a partisan of the rebellious governor of Pannonia Superior, Septimius Severus (see below).

Severan Dynasty

The short-lived Severan dynasty came into the purple primarily not by vote of the Senate like the Julio-Claudii but rather by the point of the sword like the Flavii. The founder of the dynasty, Lucius Septimius Severus, was descended from a provincial family from North Africa and is reputed to have kept his African accent until his death. To help bolster his hold on power, Septimius Severus identified himself with the cause of the late Pertinax (and incorporated this into his name), and was called by some "the Punic Sulla", a slur simultaneously pointing to his African origins and his utter ruthlessness. The Antonine Constitution of 212 granted full citizenship to all free men in the Empire.

  • Septimius Severus ("Imp. Caesar L. Septimius Severus Pertinax Aug."; b. L. Septimius Severus), 193 � 211
  • "Caracalla" ("Imp. Caesar M. Aurelius Antoninus Pius Aug."; b. L. Septimius Bassianus), 211 � 217
    • "Caracalla" had been co-Emperor with Septimius Severus from 198 until 209, whereupon he was co-Emperor with Septimius Severus and Geta until his own accession to the purple jointly with Geta
    • Geta ("Imp. Caesar P. Septimius Geta Aug."; b. P. Septimius Geta), 211
      • Note: Geta had been co-Emperor with Septimius Severus and "Caracalla" from 209 until his own accession to the purple jointly with Caracalla

Dynastic Relationships:

Septimius Severus's second wife Julia Domna bore him two sons, Lucius "Caracalla" ("Long Coat") and Geta. Caracalla was (falsely) rumoured to have fathered a bastard by his first cousin Julia Soaemis (daughter of his maternal aunt Julia Maesa); this rumoured bastard would later become "Elagabalus" (see below).

Non-Dynastic

Although Macrinus and Diadumenianus are listed here as non-dynastic, this is somewhat misleading; Macrinus was Diadumenianus's father. However, as the equestrian family produced no further Emperors, and the second was co-Emperor with the first, it is not being listed as a dynasty. Cassius Dio writes that Macrinus was a Moor from Caesarea; note that he did not style himself "Caesar", but did add "Severus" to his name and inserted Pius Felix before the title "Augustus".

  • Macrinus ("Imp. M. Opellius Severus Macrinus P.F. Augustus"; b. M. Opellius Macrinus), 217 � 218
    • Diadumenianus ("Imp. Caesar M. Opellius Antoninus Diadumenianus Aug."; b. M. Opellius Diadumenianus), 218

Macrinus was praetorian prefect (praefectus praetorio) under "Caracalla", whom he may have conspired to murder in April 217. His wife Nonia Celsa bore him a son, Diadumenianus, whom he made co-Emperor in 218; both were executed by partisans of "Elagabalus" (see below).

Severan Dynasty (Restored)

The Severi, in addition to being the second dynasty d'�p�e, are also the first Roman dynasty to have been restored to the purple. The restoration, however, brought with it a decidedly bizarre character: the first of the restored Severan Emperors, a Syrian historically known as "Elagabalus" (also seen less correctly as "Heliogabalus") was already the hereditary high priest of an Oriental sun god, Elagabal. The restored Severi were also well-known for the autocratic power exercised by three Syrian princesses as �minence grises, viz., Elagabalus's mother Julia Soaemis and grandmother Julia Maesa, and Alexander Severus's mother Julia Mamaea; these women were in fact Emperors in all but name.

  • "Elagabalus" ("Imp. Caesar M. Aurelius Antoninus P.F. Aug."; b. Varius Avitus Bassianus), 218 � 222
  • Alexander Severus ("Imp. Caesar M. Aurelius Severus Alexander P.F. Aug."; b. Bassianus Alexianus), 222 � 235

Dynastic Relationships:

"Elagabalus" was son of Sextus Varius Marcellus, a Syrian, and Julia Soaemis, daughter of Julia Maesa (the younger sister of Julia Domna, wife of Septimius Severus); he was therefore nephew of the late "Caracalla", whose natural son he claimed to be (note that he took the same name as Caracalla upon donning the purple). Elagabalus and Alexander Severus (also seen more correctly as "Severus Alexander") were first cousins; Alexander Severus's mother was Julia Mamaea, another daughter of Julia Maesa.

The Crisis of the Third Century

Non-Dynastic

The accession to the purple of Gaius Julius Verus Maximinus "Thrax" ("the Thracian") marks the rise of the first "Barracks Emperor" par excellence. Whereas the previous military Emperors (Vespasianus, Septimius Severus) had come from noble or middle-class plebeian families, Maximinus was born a commoner of a low-class family in a disreputable part of the Empire, and had begun his career as an enlisted soldier (miles). Remarkably, Maximinus never visited Rome while Emperor. Furthermore, his reign represents one of the last sallies of the increasingly impotent Senate's attempts to control the Empire; the Senate backed two pairs of co-Emperors from its own number against Maximinus.

  • Maximinus "Thrax" ("Imp. Caesar C. Iulius Verus Maximinus P.F. Invictus Aug."; b. C. Iulius Verus Maximinus), 235 � 238
  • Co-Emperors: Pupienus and Balbinus ("Imp. Caesar M. Clodius Pupienus Max. Aug." and "Imp. Caesar Decius Caelius Calvinus Balbinus P.F. Aug."; b. M. Clodius Pupienus Max. and Decius Caelius Calvinus Balbinus, respectively), 238

Maximinus "Thrax" was commander of new recruits on the Rhine frontier when Alexander Severus was murdered by mutineers; he was acclaimed Emperor by his troops in March 235, and in January 238 put down a rebellion by the governor of Africa Proconsularis (i.e., modern Tunisia) and his son, Gordianus I and Gordianus II; Gordianus was a consular of distinguished family and reigned 20 days with his son as co-Emperor. Immediately afterward the Senate backed a second pair of co-Emperors, the patrician consulars Pupienus and Balbinus, and Maximinus was murdered by his own troops in April that year. The senatorial co-Emperors were murdered by the Praetorian Guard a month later in May 238, having reigned 99 days.

Gordianan Dynasty

The accession to the purple of Marcus Antonius Gordianus retroactively created a dynasty out of the ill-fated African uprising of the Gordiani; as they did not successfully overthrow Maximinus, the preceding Gordiani are more properly regarded as failed usurpers than as Emperors, but Gordianus's accession makes the family a quasi-dynasty, which may or may not be regarded as having been restored to the purple � la Severi.

Gordianan Emperors:

  • Gordianus III ("Imp. Caesar M. Antonius Gordianus P.F. Aug."; b. M. Antonius Gordianus), 238 � 244

Dynastic Relationships:

Gordianus I's wife Fabia Orestilla bore him two sons (Gordianus II and a son of unknown name) and a daughter (Maecia Faustina); that daughter was mother of Gordianus III, who was therefore grandson of Gordianus I and nephew of Gordianus II.

Non-Dynastic

The accession to the purple of Marcus Julius Philippus "Arabicus" ("the Arab") marks the second time that a praetorian prefect supplanted his Emperor (the first being Macrinus); this Syrian soldier (once erroneously thought to have been a Christian) was succeeded by the first Emperor from the Balkan Peninsula, Quintus Decius Valerinus (a noble senator of distinguished career), who was also the first Emperor to have been killed in battle with a foreign enemy (viz., the Goths). Another African, this time from Jerba off the coast of southern Tunisia donned the purple (viz. Marcus Aemilius Aemilianus).

  • Philippus "Arabicus" ("Imp. Caesar M. Iulius Philippus P.F. Invictus Aug."; b. M. Iulius Philippus), 244 � 249
    • M. Iulius Philippus, 247 � 249 (as "Imp. Caesar M. Iulius Philippus P.F. Invictus Aug.")
  • Decius ("Imp. Caesar C. Messius Q. Traianus Decius P.F. Invictus Aug."; b. Q. Decius Valerinus), 249 � 251
  • Trebonianus Gallus ("Imp. Caesar C. Vibius Trebonianus Gallus P.F. Invictus Aug."; b. C. Vibius Trebonianus Gallus), 251 � 253
  • Aemilianus ("Imp. Caesar M. Aemilius Aemilianus P.F. Invictus Aug."; b. M. Aemilius Aemilianus), 253

Philippus "Arabicus" was praetorian prefect under the late Gordianus III, whose own soldiers mutinied against him. He installed his son Marcus Julius Philippus as co-Emperor, but both were killed in 249 by partisans of Philippus's rebellious governor of Moesia and Pannonia, the consular Decius. Decius's younger son, Hostilianus, was subsequently adopted by and proclaimed co-Emperor with Trebonianus Gallus in June 251 (and promptly died of plague in July); Trebonianus Gallus replaced Decius's son with his own, Volusianus, but father and son co-Emperors were murdered in August 253 by partisans of Trebonianus Gallus's own rebellious governor of Moesia Superior, the consular Aemilianus, who was murdered by his own soldiers after a reign of 88 days.

Valerianan Dynasty

The founder of the short-lived Valerianan dynasty, Publius Licinius Valerianus, was of a particularly distinguished patrician, Etrurian family, the Licinii. For his efforts at retrieving the badly deteriorating situation in the East, the Senate awarded him the titles Restitutor Orientis ("Restorer of the East"), Restitutor Generis Humanis ("Restorer of the Human Race") and finally Restitutor Orbis ("Restorer of the World"), but these honours fail to overcome the ignominy wherewith his reign ended: Valerianus was the first Emperor to be captured by a foreign enemy, and was used as a footstool by the Great King Shapur I of Persia, who after Valerianus's death had his skin stuffed and put on display (the only other Emperor to have been so humiliated was Rhomanos IV eight hundred years later in 1071).

Further major developments troubled the reign of P. Licinius Egnatius Gallienus: several significant rebellions arose against Gallienus's rule, including the establishment of the independent, so-called Gallic Empire (composed of Gallia, Britannia, and Hispania) in 261 by Postumus, and Gallienus erected an co-Emperor in all but name in Septimius Odenaethus, king of Palmyra (Gallienus gave Odenaethus the titles Dux Romanorum, "Leader of the Romans", and Corrector Totius Orientis, "Corrector of the Whole East").

Valerianan Emperors:

  • Valerianus ("Imp. Caesar P. Licinius Valerianus P.F. Invictus Aug."; b. P. Licinius Valerianus), 253 � 260
  • Gallienus ("Imp. Caesar P. Licinius Egnatius Gallienus P.F. Invictus Aug."; b. P. Licinius Egnatius Gallienus), 260 � 268
    • Note: Gallienus had been co-Emperor with Valerianus (as "Imp. Caesar P. Licinius Egnatius Gallienus P.F. Invictus Aug.") from 253 until his own accession to the purple
    • Cornelius Licinius Saloninus Valerianus, 260 (as "Imp. Caesar Cornelius Licinius Saloninus Valerianus P.F. Invictus Aug.")

Dynastic Relationships:

Valerianus's wife Egnatia Mariniana bore him two sons (Egnatius Gallienus and Valerianus). Gallienus himself had by his wife Julia Cornelia Salonina

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